Age of Conan open beta gets date

Funcom has announced that the open beta for its hotly anticipated fantasy MMO, Age of Conan, will begin on May 1st, at 1500 GMT.

The beta will be hosted exclusively by FilePlanet, and the first step in getting access - "registration for notification" - is now open.

The open beta phase will give 50,000 players a chance to sample Age of Conan ahead of its release on May 20th. However, it won't be the whole game that they get to play.

The primary purpose of the open beta is to purely provide "final stress teseting", according to game director Gaute Godager. So a level 13 cap will be applied - as opposed to the 80-level cap of the complete game - and the entire game will not be available.

Open beta should still be an interesting look at this important game, though, so head over to FilePlanet for a chance to join us there in a couple of weeks.